I Loved Him First
by flyingwhirlwinds
Summary: And on that day, she said goodbye without even saying it aloud. PercyxOC, onesided. Mention of Percabeth.


Summary: And on that day, she said goodbye without even saying it aloud. PercyxOC, onesided.

A/N: This fic was spouted off my recent addiction to Percy Jackson. A bit sentimental, but not all PercyxOC stories have to be mutual. :)) . Oh, and I do not, in any way, own PJO, Rick Riordan does. :D

* * *

This was funnily ironic. Without the funny part.

Here I was, a daughter of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and sexuality and whatnot, and I'm having _love_ problems. At times, I think my mother is laughing at my situation.

You must know Percy Jackson, yes? Well, if you don't, where have you been these past five years? He's the son of Poseidon- the only half-god, half-human, anyway. He's saved the world more times than I can count, always backed by his friends. He's dealt with _laistrygonians_, fought Furies, laughed in the face of Hades, bore the weight of the sky (no kidding), faced K-r-o-n-o-s (I'm quite terrified of what might happen if I say his name- names are powerful things.), and saved Olympus from the Titans.

You may be wondering how I know of this. Okay, granted, almost everyone knows Percy is strong. But I'm the one who loves him, the one whose heart beat first for him before anyone else.

Yeap. You read right. I love him. I love the son of Poseidon. I love those eyes that seem so innocent.

I love Perseus Jackson.

But the problem is, he's already taken by a certain Annabeth Chase from the Athena cabin.

Don't get me wrong- I love Annabeth to death. She's a good friend and a great trainer. But really, the moment I realized Percy loved her, I wanted to push her off a cliff. Friendship forgotten. (Can't say I'm kidding. I take competition- even if it's hopeless- seriously.)

Okay, maybe not. Athena **will** get angry, no doubt about it. It won't do to have an angry goddess on my trail, especially that one. I'm getting shivers just thinking about it.

I have considered asking my own mother for help, but I figured she'd just laugh in my face and walk off with her lover, Ares. Just like that. She could care less about me, of all people. So, to put it simply, I'm hopeless.

* * *

There was actually a time when Percy and I were close friends. Way before he and Annabeth started dating. Trust me, those were the happiest days of my life- and I'm not exaggerating. (I'm practically driven by my emotions- not that I mind it, but I'd rather be realistic. Sadly, I'm kind of "programmed" this way)

When I compare myself to her, I realize more and more that she's better than me. I'm just a daughter of Aphrodite, after all, and she's the _freaking_ daughter of Athena. She beats me by smarts, by battle strategy, by ability. I'm prettier than her, though, but that's a given. (And if you notice, my ego's _way_ bigger than hers.) But I know that she'll always be the one he loves anyway, so why would I care about my looks? He wouldn't notice anyway, would he?

* * *

"Hey. How's life, Andy?" I looked up from my spot, my heart leaping in my chest and my eyes welling up at the same time. As I sat at the edge of the water, my feet curled up in surprise. Of course. Think of the devil and the devil shall appear.

"Do I know you?" I found myself asking with a note of disdain as I watched him sit down beside me. In an instant, he turned his head and smiled at me, his eyes twinkling.

The second he did that, I knew I blushed. Good thing it was dark out. "Heya. My name's Perseus. What's yours?" Of course he'll play along with my comment. His green eyes twinkled with mischief, but there was a knowing look in them.

"And I'm Andromeda, in case you haven't noticed." I looked away from his gaze, trying to calm my beating heart. My fingers were freezing from the cold night.

Funny how our names would match. Perseus, in greek mythology, was the youth who saved Princess Andromeda from dying, eventually falling in love with her. Like all fairytales, it was a happy ending. We had a laugh about it once, but I never found us discussing it again.

"Hope I can still save you from the monster, then." he laughed, and my lower lip trembled, trying to think of what I could say.

"You're too late." I muttered to myself, shaking my head when he looked at me, curious. "What brings a hero here? I'm not sure _Lady Annabeth_ would approve of you hanging out with another girl, would she?" I almost put it in a sarcastic tone, but stopped myself, not wanting to hurt him.

"Ah, she's fine with it. So what's going on with you?" I could hear the happiness in his voice. I knew it already. I knew he was happy with her, but the way he is right now, I'm stuck between being hurt and being happy for him. I'm too weak for this.

"Nothing much, r-really. I still suck at archery, and I cut myself a lot with the dagger I'm supposed to be using as a weapon. Somewhere, Apollo and Artemis are laughing at me." I must have sounded dejected to him, since he patted my head in a friendly way, chuckling as he consoled me on my lack of fighting skills.

Friend. That's all I'll ever be.

My chest pounded in response to that thought. Perhaps it would be stupid to hope for anything more, yet I couldn't stop myself from doing so. Was it so wrong to desperately dream of something I _needed_?

I forced a smile, turning to him. His hand slipped off my head as I said; "I think Annabeth's looking for you." his stomach rumbled, and I bit back a laugh. _Same old Percy_. "You should go eat. I'll stay here for a while."

He seemed to sense the pleading in my voice, since he stood up and said goodbye, a smile gracing his features as he walked off. I took in the slight twinkle in his eyes and the slight curve of his mouth, relishing in the fact that he smiled _for_ me. My heart throbbed in delight.

Hah, I must be dreaming to think that it was all for me.

As his footsteps faded from my hearing, I slouched in my spot. I was certain of one thing; I would never find another Perseus to my Andromeda- here on earth, and Olympus, too. There would never be another who would save me from the monster (in my mind, anyway). Not one who would make me as happy as I was with Poseidon's demigod son. No one as special as the boy who saved Olympus, or as close to me as the friend I fell for.

* * *

That night, we had our last conversation. I never had the chance to tell him what I truly felt, and I suppose it was my fault I chose to hide it.

Manipulating his emotions crossed my mind a couple of times (hey, even though I suck at fighting I'm pretty skilled when it comes to controlling the feelings of the people around me.) and I tried convincing myself that he wasn't contented with Annabeth, but deep in my heart, I knew otherwise. He was happy, and I didn't want to ruin that with my selfishness. I could live with pain as long as he lived with laughter.

Maybe it was the right decision. I distanced myself from him, choosing to cut all ties to help myself move on. It was harder than anything I ever imagined. At the back of my mind, the option to control his feelings still hung, but I always dismissed it. Days turned to months and months turned to years, and before I knew it, they were married.

Annabeth Chase became Annabeth Chase-Jackson (she wouldn't lose her maiden name) and they went off to live in San Francisco.

I was so happy for him, and so sad for myself, as well. Maybe I shouldn't have been so calm about keeping away from Percy, because the second I heard the news, I started to cry. All the bottled up emotions, all the pain I felt poured out of my eyes, and I found myself clutching at my heart, feeling that particular throbbing I felt years ago, that night we talked by the lake. That night I learned to let go.

In my attempt to move on, I never cried until that day. My chest never felt so painful as it did. Maybe because deep in my heart, I still hoped he would realize he loved _me_ and leave Annabeth. I loved him first, didn't that mean anything? Then again, who was I to kid? They were meant for each other.

Even I knew that.

* * *

©flaminghalo

A/N: And that's it. :D Tell me what you think. Constructive criticism helps me improve. :)


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